Ten Children Born of Courage and Faith
by Cherie Logan

And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them:
but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
But Jesus called them unto him, and said,
Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not:
for of such is the kingdom of God.
Luke 18: 15-16
 
 

The Christ Created Family

The Christ created family is not a family of specific numbers.  It is a family who looks to Christ for inspiration in raising and teaching.  It is a family who always looks to becoming one of Christ's eternal families.  The childless families, the adoptive families, the blended families, the large and the small families are all temporary descriptions.  I believe a person must never make an eternal decision based upon temporal conditions as those are fleeting and can change in an instant.  The rich may become poor, the sick may become healthy, the presently held loved one may become held again someday only after resurrection.  The only sure way to have the family that Christ wants to create for us is to seek Him in faith, in prayer, in revelation, in tears and in joy.

Every chance I get I will casually mention that I have ten children.  I love the gasps and expressions of wonderment given by almost everybody I meet.  Here are the most common responses:

"Are they all yours?"  "From the same husband?"  "What does your husband think about having so many?"  "Are you Mormon, or Catholic?"

I answer the first two questions with a smile and a yes.  The answer to the next question is usually, "He is the third of eight children and wanted a large family.  When we were planning our wedding, I told him we were going to have at least nine children and maybe more."

At that point they gasp and say, "Nine! Now you have ten!  You are so brave!"

I like to smile and say, "Actually, I always hoped for at least twelve."

When I first started having children, people would respond with, "Wait until you have a few."  Then after I had seven they would say, "Well, you don't have any teens yet."  Now that I have ten, which includes one young adult and four teens, people just stand open mouthed.  That's when I hit them with, "I teach them at home."  My family has just moved from being unusual to being awesome.

The first time I was asked the religion question, I had just had my sixth baby and was getting out of our van with my family.  A woman was strolling by with her new baby and a few children.  When I told her that I was, in fact, Mormon, she said she was Catholic.  She was frequently asked the religious question because she had six children.  Yvonne and her husband Jay share so many similarities with us and together we have shared even more experiences.  It is a delight to associate with people committed to discovering the Lord’s plan for their childbearing.

"Mormon or Catholic?"  I guess in today's world people assume there must be a reason other than stupidity for raising large families.  I have heard religion cited as an understandable although unenlightened reason.  Less acceptable to society is the simple desire to have a home filled with children.  In the college classroom, others usually looked upon this reason as coming from some emotionally poor person who cannot find peace and happiness within him.

I come from a family of only two children.  My husband, Neil, comes from a family of eight children.  We both want and enjoy raising these little and big ones.  It deeply saddens me when I contemplate that someday my body will stop being able to have another one in mortality.  Others tell me there will be grandchildren but I am convinced my grandchildren will bring a different feeling than those I get as I bear, nurse and teach my own little ones.

Once my oldest daughter and I discussed how old she would be when I have my last child.  She would probably be somewhere between eighteen and twenty-four years old.  Sometime around then she will begin having my grandchildren.  The awe and majesty of having a baby in the family will be an unending circle for all of us.  Chani was over eighteen when I did had my tenth child.

I grew up believing it was only possible to have a few children.  Society considers four children to be a large family.  I would longingly create a dozen names and wonder how I would ever decide the ones to really choose for my babies.
When I joined the church at age eighteen and a half, I was elated to discover there were women with children ranging from birth to adults.  That's what I wanted!  I was later blessed to marry a young man with the same desire.

One day Neil looked inside the van at our then seven children and asked if they were all there.  It seemed so few!  Perhaps some of our children were still in the building.  Then we counted heads and yes, they were all there.  We closed the van door and stood together in the parking lot for a minute.  "It doesn't seem like very many, does it?" we asked each other, and I laugh with the joy of knowing how united we are on this point.

For several years, Neil and I have gone with Jay and Yvonne on our weekly date.  One night as we were talking over a treat, they told us about her first prenatal visit for her ninth pregnancy.  The doctor looked at her chart and acted astounded.  Then without looking at Yvonne, he asked if it was due to religious beliefs.  He then hesitated and asked if she was L.D.S.  "No, I'm Catholic.  However, we have L.D.S. friends and they want twelve children."

"Twelve!"  The doctor was surprised.

I love the feeling of surprising others with the number of children we have and want.  However it is very saddening, when you understand Heavenly Father's plan, to realize how few parents are willing to have more than a couple of little ones.

I am amazed and admiring of those I've found in my genealogy with large families.  I know nothing about them and yet I know so much.  I can look at the family group sheet and see how old they were when the couple started having children and how old each child was as another came along.  I could tell how old the family members were when they moved and they changed their lives or their age when someone in the family died and so forth.

When I look at the sheet in this way I get a familiar feeling concerning the family, especially the mother, because I can identify with her on a level of common experience.  I feel such a drive to get each family member connected in my genealogy.  I do not want to leave out any children belonging to a set of parents.  As I started my family through a temple marriage, I am grateful that my family already has the chance to be truly complete, in number as well as in covenant.

Eight of my ten children have been born at home.  I want my readers to understand that this book is not about home versus hospital births.  Of my two hospital births, one experience will show how the hospitals involved carry a heavy responsibility in the loss of our youngest.  The other hospital birth will show how that experience saved the life of another son.  My homebirths will show the great blessings of bringing children into our arms and into the home we have created for them.  They will also show surprises and emergencies.

My intent in writing this book isn’t to debate pros and cons of how to birth babies but rather to testify of the great joy found in building a family through courage, faith and inspiration.  It is all about joy.  The Lord has declared that the purpose of our very existence is to have joy, true joy. I am convinced that joy may be found in the family life we create here and the eternal family life Christ desires for us to obtain.

Return to Noble Child's GenCreations Index Everything you read here is freely offered, asking only that you honor my copyright by sending my site address to others rather than copying and sending the individual articles.  You may print and use my articles provided that you give credit to me as the author and link back to this site. The articles were written in the hope that they will help mothers realize just how normal chaotic life with children really is and how priceless the journey.  Search My Site! Search our Site: sitemap . The Noble Child Email List Be notified of any new postings in the topics of homeschooling, parenting, home management and just plain fun.  Converse with other mothers and keep the joyful perspective while raising children.  Many of the mothers are LDS but the list is open to mothers of all religions. Email Cherie Absolute Backgrounds and Textures